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Open Recommendations

Debt Limit: Statutory Changes Could Avert the Risk of a Government Default and Its Potentially Severe Consequences
GAO-25-107089
Dec 11, 2024
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Congress Congress should consider immediately removing the debt limit and adopting an approach that better links decisions about the debt with decisions about spending and revenue at the time those decisions are made. (Matter for Consideration 1)
Open
After a debt limit suspension from June 2023 through January 2025, the debt limit was reinstated. As of February 2025, Treasury had begun taking extraordinary measures to avoid default, but no new legislation had been enacted to raise, suspend, or remove the debt limit, or to better link decisions about the debt limit with decisions about spending and revenue at the time those decisions are made. Without such legislation, the nation risks being unable to pay its bills and defaulting on its debt. GAO will continue monitoring legislative action responsive to this matter.

Defense Budget: Additional Information about Military Personnel Realignments Would Facilitate Congressional Oversight
GAO-24-106979
Sep 11, 2024
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5 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Defense The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) revises the Financial Management Regulation to require the active and reserve components to provide a report to Congress that contains complete information on individual program-level realignments of MILPERS funds. (Recommendation 1)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Army The Secretary of the Army should ensure that its active and reserve components implement the revised Financial Management Regulation guidance and report realignments by individual program for MILPERS accounts in their annual budget materials. (Recommendation 2)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that Navy active and reserve components implement the revised Financial Management Regulation guidance and report realignments by individual program for MILPERS accounts in their annual budget materials. (Recommendation 3)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy should ensure that Marine Corps active and reserve components implement the revised Financial Management Regulation guidance and report realignments by individual program for MILPERS accounts in their annual budget materials. (Recommendation 4)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Department of the Air Force The Secretary of the Air Force should ensure that its active and reserve components implement the revised Financial Management Regulation guidance and report realignments by individual program for MILPERS accounts in their annual budget materials. (Recommendation 5)
Open
When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Disaster Relief Fund: Lessons Learned from COVID-19 Could Improve FEMA's Estimates
GAO-24-106676
Jul 09, 2024
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Emergency Management Agency The FEMA Administrator should identify and document lessons learned related to estimating obligations for declared catastrophic disasters based on its experience with COVID-19. (Recommendation 1)
Open
FEMA did not concur with our recommendation; however, we maintain that it is warranted. In January 2025, FEMA told us it believes the analyses it has already conducted, including an analysis of COVID-19 expenditure drawdowns, are sufficient to meet the intent of the recommendation. We have requested documentation of this analysis and of any associated lessons learned related to cost estimation. We will continue to monitor FEMA's efforts and provide further information when we confirm any actions taken to address the recommendation.

Veterans Affairs: Improvements Needed in Estimating Funding for Potential Future Health Emergencies
GAO-24-106359
Feb 08, 2024
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Department of Veterans Affairs The VA Undersecretary for Health should update VHA's standard operating procedure to require documenting and sharing with internal VHA stakeholders the rationale for key decisions made when developing the EHCPM. This should include documentation of key decisions made that led from the development of the initial EHCPM scenario through the scenario ultimately used to develop the President's budget request for VA. (Recommendation 1)
Open
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) concurred with our recommendation. As of October 2024, the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) Office of Enrollment and Forecasting finalized a standard operating procedure (SOP) for developing Enrollee Health Care Projection Model (EHCPM) scenarios to support budget formulation. The SOP includes an approval memorandum template to provide consistent and standardized information on assumptions to VHA decision makers and will ensure proper documentation of VHA leadership decisions concerning EHCPM assumptions. We will continue to monitor VA's action to ensure the implementation of this SOP and documentation of VHA leadership decisions during the development of VHA's fiscal year 2026 budget request.
Department of Veterans Affairs The VA Undersecretary for Health should enhance VA's analytical modeling capacity to better enable VHA to prepare estimates of the supplemental funding needed to address catastrophic events, such as pandemics, natural disasters, and terrorist acts. (Recommendation 2)
Open
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) concurred with our recommendation. As of October 2024, the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) Chief Strategy Office convened an internal Catastrophic Events Modeling workgroup to develop a draft charter to provide clear direction regarding the enhancement of the modeling capacity to prepare funding estimates to meet the needs of veterans in the event of another catastrophic event such as the COVID-19 pandemic. According to VHA officials, this charter is currently under review and will be approved at the workgroup's first meeting, which is planned to take place in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025. According to VHA officials, this workgroup was formed under the authority of VHA's Strategic Directions Committee that reviewed background information and plans for the workgroup on August 29, 2024. As an outcome of the presentation, representatives from the offices and organizations determined as key workgroup contributors were nominated as members of the workgroup. We will continue to monitor the actions of this workgroup and asses the charter to determine if it addresses the intent of our recommendation for VA to enhance its analytic modeling capacity to better enable VHA to prepare estimates of supplemental funding needed to address a future catastrophic event.
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